Guarding Angell
by Longing for Oblivion
Summary: Okay, so here's the rewritten version of Guarding Angell. Summary and additional info inside. Please R&R! Rating mainly for later chapters!
1. Prologue

_**Discs.:**__ I don't own CSI NY nor its characters!_

_**Summary:**__ After a tough couple of days all Mac wants is to forget about his troubles for a while, to stop thinking about how the most recent case had forced him to face what he had tried denying for the passed two years. Meanwhile Angell wants to distract herself from her own troubles by spending her night off at her favorite nightclub. As their paths cross at the nightclub Mac has to realize that he can't keep pushing his feelings for her away and when she invites him in after he gives her a ride home the temptation gets too much and they end up in bed together. When they decide to give it a try, after spending a second night together, they both are happy - even though Angell can't help feeling torn between Mac and Flack. However, soon her conflicting feelings turn out to be her smallest problem as it becomes obvious that someone's out to bring her down..._

_(Jeez it took me an eternity to get this summary done, and honestly I still think it doesn't manage to give anyone a good idea of what this story's about - but the truth is, I'm simply terrible at this and I hope that my inability to write a proper, decent summary is not keeping you from reading this)_

_**Genres:**__ Romance, Angst, Suspense, Drama, Hurt/Comfort_

_**Pairings:**__ Mac/Angell in the beginning, Flangell later_

_**Spoilers:**__ Well, you should have a basic idea what happened up to season 5's eppy "Rush To Judgement" since this takes place a few weeks after that episode. However, knowledge of "Death Inside" and "Forbidden Fruit" is most definitely gonna be crucial!_

_**A/N:**__ Well, as I recently re-read this story I came to the conclusion that I'm not satisfied at all with those first few chapters, so I deleted the orginal version and gonna repost the already finished chapters after giving them a li'l make-over - including a change of the timeline, and adding a (proper) summary. Hope you don't mind the changes I made (that you might even like them)..._

* * *

**Guarding Angell**

_Prologue_

As Mac entered the nightclub he released an exhausted sigh. It had certainly been a damn tough week and therefore he wanted nothing more than not meeting anyone he knew. That was why he had chosen to go there - the chances that anyone he worked with would show up were extremely low.

First of all he was still worried about Ella McBride, he wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something about her that made him care - even though he didn't know her. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't seem to have anyone who looked out for her, who cared about her. Or maybe it was the fact that he had found her after she had tried to kill herself - the fact that it had been him she had called before she had cut her wrists. Probably the actual reason didn't even really matter...

But what actually bothered him currently by far more was the case he had worked on the passed few days...Normally he refused to let his work really affect him, sure he cared for the victims, for their relatives and friends, but he avoided to get emotionally attached. This time, however, he had failed on that and had taken the case unusually personal...

Taking a seat at the bar he sighed once more and ordered something to drink before getting, despite the loud music, totally lost in his thoughts for another time.

* * *

Entering the club Angell couldn't suppress a grin - it was her night off and therefore she was determined to have some fun, what meant that she was going to dance all night long, have some drinks and forget for a while those things that bothered her.

However, she couldn't stop thinking about Flack and how weird things were between them since their break-up two weeks earlier...

_Flashback :_

_As Angell closed the front-door behind her and took a quick look around she couldn't help but frown for a few seconds as she saw Flack sitting on his couch, apparently totally lost in his thoughts._

_"Hey..." She greeted, but instead of responding in any way Flack just emptied his beer, refusing to even look at her._

_"Flack...What's going on?" She asked weakly, her anger having faded during the ride over to his place, as she walked up to him._

_Still no answer. A sigh escaped her mouth and she let her shoulders and head hang for a moment._

_"Would you please look at me, Don? I mean, we __**need**__to talk - you know that as well as I do!"_

_"Talk 'bout what?" He finally looked up at her, an angry expression on his face._

_"You know exactly what I mean - I'm talking about Katie and the fact that you slept with her..."_

_"For Christ's sake, Jess! What does it matter now? She's dead..." Flack yelled, and Angell got aware of just how drunk he really was._

_"It matters because I thought this between us was something serious for you and not just another meaningless fling." Angell replied, her voice calm, even though she could feel how her own anger was rising in her again._

_"It is...I love you - but I'm tired of trying to make this work considering that it is a losing battle..." Flack put the empty bottle he had been holding down on the coffee-table, then he got up from the couch, staring angrily at her,_

_"The problem is that you don't feel the same and I simply don't wanna be just your second choice - and I __**know**__that I could never be more than that!"_

_"What are you talking about?" Angell wanted to know, her voice sounding strangely defensive to her ears._

_Flack sighed, letting his shoulders hang, his anger having subsided. For a moment he simply looked down at the carpet before he glanced back at her face and said, exhaustion and desperation etched to his voice,_

_"I'm talking about the fact that even though you might not be aware of it yourself, you have obviously feelings for Mac...I'm talking about the fact that I'm not blind or stupid - I see how you look and smile at him, I notice how he can cheer you up no matter how crappy your day was..." Angell couldn't help but stare in disbelief at Flack, when she didn't say anything he continued,_

_"The point is I don't want to keep putting our friendship on the line for this, considering that I know that it's not gonna work in the long-run..." They locked eyes for a while,_

_"I mean, I simply care too much for you as that I could keep doing this...I'd rather go back to be simply your friend than being just second best..."_

_She felt tears burning at the back of her eyes, felt how her heart broke into millions of tiny pieces and while she wanted to protest, to yell at him how wrong he was, all she could get over her lips was,_

_"I guess, I'll see you tomorrow then..." She looked at him and seeing him nod she turned around to leave. _

_When she had reached the door she put the key he had given her onto his desk, then she turned to look once more at him. He had sat back down, being apparently lost once more in thought. A sigh escaped her mouth as she opened the door and left, her tears breaking free._

_End flashback_

She had been lying awake almost 'til she had to get up after she had gotten home that night, unable to stop thinking about what he had said, eventually coming to the conclusion that it didn't even matter if he was right since he had already made the decision and she won't be able to change his mind about it anyways...However, she was glad that their failed relationship hadn't ruined their friendship considering that she wasn't sure if she could handle losing him also as friend.

Nonetheless it was weird because she knew that even though he had been the one to end it he was hurting just as much. She felt bad, if not to say guilty, for not fighting for what they had, still lay most of the nights awake wondering why she had simply let him throw away what they had.

Angell closed her eyes for a moment, reminding herself of the fact that she had wanted to have some fun and that thinking about all of that stuff was not on the list of things she wanted to do.

_About an hour and a half later :_

After dancing for such a long time Angell came to the conclusion that she could use a little break to catch her breath and realizing how dry her throat was probably also a drink or two.

As she waited for her drink she took the time to take a closer look at the people surrounding her. Only a moment later a bright smile crossed her features when she caught sight of a familiar face. For a few seconds she debated with herself if she should head over to him - or not.

But eventually her curiosity got the better of her, so when the bartender put down her drink in front of her she grabbed the glass and went to where he was sitting.

Stopping next to him she stated,

"If that isn't Detective Mac Taylor..."

When he turned toward her and she saw his puzzled facial expression Angell couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

Mac wasn't sure for how long he had already been sitting at the bar of the nightclub when a quite familiar sounding voice interrupted his train of thought. Turning around he was totally startled for a moment by seeing Angell standing right in front of him.

After the first moment of surprise a smile appeared on his face.

"Detective Angell..." He stated, watching her take a seat next to him.

"So, out of pure curiosity - what brings you to a nightclub like this? I mean, I always pictured you more as someone prefering a quiet bar or something to a noisy, crowded nightclub..." She smiled cheerfully at him and gave him a questioning glance.

"That's exactly the point." He replied, unable to take his eyes off of her.

The first thing he noticed was that her hair wasn't framing her face like usually in soft waves, instead she had straightened it. She was wearing a pair of tight black jeans along with a black top, that ended just above her belly button, and it took him more willpower than he wanted to admit to tear his eyes away from the sight of her bare skin between the rim of the top and the rim of her jeans.

"Tough case?" Angell wanted to know.

He took a sip of his drink, then he stated, looking back into her eyes,

"Yeah..."

It didn't take long before his mind drifted off to the case he had just closed a few hours earlier. Taking a short look at Angell he tried to push the thought away, considering that this case had forced him to face something he had tried to deny now for almost two years...

_Flashback, three days earlier :_

_It was just getting light when Mac got out of his car and headed inside the apartment-building where the body had been found. _

_Entering the apartment he walked up to Flack who was currently talking with a uniformed policeman, when he saw him approach he dismissed the cop and Mac gave him a questioning look._

_"Victim is Nikki Anderson, 30 years old..." Flack started to fill him in on what they knew so far as they went to the bedroom._

_"Who found her?" Mac wanted to know._

_"Her best friend - Sarah Mitchell, she took it pretty badly...She was still totally hysterical when I got here, however, she was able to tell us at least that they had wanted to meet for breakfast at a coffee-shop down the street." He paused for a few seconds, checking his notes,_

_"When Nikki didn't show up Sarah thought her friend might have forgotten that they had wanted to meet. She tried to call her a couple of times and headed over here when she didn't answer her phone nor her cell thinking Nikki might have partied a bit too hard last night and had turned off the phone. After ringing the bell Sarah let herself in with the key Nikki had given her when she had moved in. A few minutes later she found her...Says she hasn't touched anything considering that Nikki was obviously already dead when she found her."_

_Mac nodded, before looking at Flack, whose attention was focused entirely on the body._

_"Where's she now?" _

_Hearing Mac's question Flack snapped out of his trance-like state and tore his eyes away from the body._

_"Eh, an officer brought her home so she can calm down a bit...She's gonna come to the precinct later for further questioning..." Flack trailed off as his cell phone started ringing and hurried to answer the call._

_As Flack left the room Mac walked up to the bed and took a closer look at the victim._

_"Have you already determined the TOD?" He wanted to know from Hawkes, who was still busy with his first examination, though he didn't take the time to look at his colleague._

_It was obvious that there had been a lot of rage involved, the body was covered with bruises and scratches, the eyes were still wide open...However, it wasn't the brutal proceeding of the killer that caught his attention, making it almost impossible for him to tear his eyes away from her - it was her appearance - her face, that got to him._

_She had dark brunette hair, that was framing her face. Her big, dark-brown eyes were still showing an expression somewhere between surprise, anxiety and shock..._

_"She died approximately around four o'clock this morning..." He heard Hawkes replying to his question, though his voice sounded as distant as if they were seperated by miles,_

_"I don't know yet how she was killed - at least not for sure. Nonetheless I assume that she..." He trailed off apparently realizing that Mac wasn't really paying attention._

_Out of the corner of his eyes Mac saw how Hawkes straightened up, then he stated looking at him,_

_"She has a striking resemblance with Angell, don't ya think?"_

_"Yeah..." Mac mumbled absentmindedly and forced himself to eventually tear his eyes off the body and focus on his colleague, then he wanted to know,_

_"So, what do you assume killed her?" _

_"Well, there are indicators that she was strangled - but she could also have died due to some inner injuries..."_

_End flashback_

In the end they had found out that her ex-boyfriend had killed her because he had been still in love with her and hadn't wanted her to be with anybody else.

Mac let out a sigh realizing that it was still bothering him how much that case had gotten to him. Sure, he could try to brush it off, telling himself that it wasn't a big deal, after all, it hadn't only bothered him that the victim had looked so much like Angell. But he knew that it was by far not that simple...

He knew that he had spent most of the time when he hadn't needed to focus on the case thinking about what he would do if something happened to Angell. Especially after the case had been closed he had kept wondering about it, making it basically impossible for him to focus on his paperwork. Eventually he had given up, deciding to call it a day and leave the paperwork for the following day.

Angell couldn't help but frown when she noticed the thoughtful expression on Mac's face. However, for a while she just observed him, wondering what he was thinking about.

"You're okay?" She asked eventually, causing him to look at her.

He smiled and nodded, before replying,

"Yeah, I was just thinking..."

She refused the urge to ask him what he had been thinking about, knowing that he was a very private person.

Looking at Angell Mac could hardly resist the temptation to reach out and let his fingers slide through her smooth hair, to caress her cheek...The fact that she was sitting so close wasn't making it easier at all, considering that he could smell that intoxicating scent of her perfume. And he simply couldn't help but get aware of that growing yearning that overcame him now already for a felt eternity whenever she was around him.

Normally he simply pushed all those emotions and thoughts that overwhelmed him when he saw her aside, but for some reason it just wasn't working this time...

Seeing her grin a frown appeared on his face.

"What?" He wanted to know after a moment, causing her grin to widen.

"You're staring at me..." She replied after a moment, her eyes sparkling in amusement.

Angell could barely keep herself from chuckling as she saw the expression of pure shock that crossed his face for like a split second, but it was already gone so fast that she wasn't really all that sure that it had been there in the first place.

"Really?" He asked, giving her a challenging glance, a smile on his lips.

Waiting for her reply, even though he already knew the answer, Mac couldn't help but hope that his thoughts weren't showing on his face. It surprised him somehow that it didn't really bother him that she had caught him staring at her, but on the other hand she didn't seem to mind either.

"Yeah..." She said, nodding slightly, still amusement written all over her face.

Taking a more careful look at Mac Angell caught a glimpse of such an intense longing in his eyes, causing her heart to beat slightly faster. However, just a moment later his eyes were once again as unreadable as always and she couldn't help but sigh. Well, maybe she had just imagined it...

Seeing the thoughtful frown on Angell's face he couldn't help wondering what she was thinking about. Only a few seconds passed before his eyes focused on her lips and somehow he knew that he won't care if she noticed.

Eventually he forced himself to tear his eyes away from her completely, worried that if he kept looking at her his well-constructed facade would crumble...

_Around one AM :_

Stopping the car Mac took a look at Angell and they locked eyes.

"Thanks..." Angell broke eventually the silence, then she asked,

"You wanna come in?"

After a moment of thinking Mac nodded and they got out of the car.

Following Angell inside the building Mac got aware of the fact that he was treading on extremely thin ice, considering how he felt about her. And the recent lack of sleep, combined with the Anderson case was making it just that much more dangerous...

But despite the fact that he was worried that she could figure out his by now best kept secret, the offer was simply way too tempting.

Entering her apartment Angell couldn't help but smile softly as she turned to look at Mac, watching him close the door behind them and take a look at their surroundings.

Closing the space between them Mac lifted his hand to her face, caressing softly her cheek, causing her eyes to fly shut for a short moment. As she looked at him again they locked eyes and she could see the longing displayed on his face.

A few seconds later Mac leaned in, kissing her hungrily, his right hand winding into her hair while his left arm sneaked around her waist, pulling her closer.

For a moment Angell was completely stunned by the turn of events, but after a few seconds she found herself responding to the kiss with just as much passion, found herself wrapping her arms around his neck.

Breaking away in need of oxygen Mac saw Angell giving him a questioning glance. He couldn't help but smile for a moment before leaning in for another passionate kiss.

Starting to lead Mac to her bedroom Angell removed her hands from his neck and began undoing the buttons of his dark-blue shirt, somehow feeling strangely disattached from herself, from her actions.

A part of her mind was still trying to process the situation, incapable of believing that all of this was really happening, that it wasn't just a dream...

Dropping the shirt to the floor Angell let out a soft moan when Mac kissed her softly onto the side of her neck. She felt his hands moving to the rim of her top and starting to lift it up. As his fingertips brushed against the skin of her stomach she felt a shiver running down her spine.

Entering the bedroom Mac discarded Angell's top carelessly onto the carpet, returning his lips immediately to hers. He felt her hands tugging on the black t-shirt he wore and hurried to take it off.

After a few seconds Mac kissed her hungrily and Angell wrapped once more her arms around his neck, drawing his face closer to hers. A moment later he opened the button of her jeans and unzipped them, before pulling them down.

As they broke the kiss they shared a smile. Mac lifted his left hand to her face, caressing softly her cheek. A moment later he brushed the straps of her bra from her shoulders and undid the clasp, causing it to drop to the floor.

By now they had reached her bed and she sat down on it before she unbuckled his belt. Soon she had undone the button and zipper of his pants. As she pulled them down along with his boxers, Mac kissed her once more.

He could feel Angell smile against his lips as she got a hold of his hands and leaned back onto her bed, drawing him down with her.

Breaking their kiss he traced her jaw-line with his lips, then he started trailing kisses down the side of her throat, letting at the same time his fingertips brush over her skin. Angell leaned her head back and closed her eyes, simply enjoying the sensations his featherlike kisses and touches evoked in her.

As he started to kiss his way down to her belly she let her hands fall to either side of her. Angell bit her lower lip trying to suppress a moan, but it was pointless, his soft touch setting her entire body on fire.

Mac moved his hands to the rim of her panties and pulled them down. For a moment he just looked at her, letting his eyes wander over her body, then he leaned down, kissing her passionate.

Angell placed her hands on the back of his neck drawing him closer. Pulling back for a few seconds he gave her a questioning look, causing her to smile.

When he entered her a moment later and kissed the side of her neck Angell moaned, her eyes flying shut.

_5:36 AM :_

Waking up Mac couldn't help but frown for a moment, his mind needing a moment to get aware of his surroundings. Letting his fingertips brush over Angell's left arm a smile appeared on his face.

As his cell phone started ringing he hurried to grab the item from the floor and quickly checked his messages, not wanting Angell to wake up.

After closing his phone again he got up and dressed. Turning to leave he hesitated for a moment, not really wanting to leave without a word. But he wasn't sure what to say and there was a new case so he chose to let her sleep and just leave.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it so far...Anyways, I'm already working on rewriting the next couple of chapters...In the meantime, please do me a favor and REVIEW!_


	2. 1 What now?

_**A/N:**__ Well, this chapter contains some bigger changes..._

* * *

**Guarding Angell**

_1. What now?_

Waking up to the sound of her ringing cell phone Angell sighed softly, not exactly in the mood to already get up, considering that it was only like half-past six in the morning. Answering the call nonetheless she sat up, forcing her eyes to stay open.

Turning around as she listened to the caller she wasn't really surprised to find Mac already gone. She knew that he had been called in on a case, having slightly stirred when he had gotten the message, but tired as she had been she had drifted right back to sleep as soon as the phone had gone silent.

After finishing the call she got up and headed to her bathroom for a quick shower.

For a moment she simply closed her eyes, just enjoying the warmth of the water, before her mind drifted off to the passed night. Somehow she was grateful that Mac had already left while she had still been sleeping, was glad that she won't have to see him at the moment since they were obviously working on different cases, what was going to give her the time to think about all of this.

She couldn't help being confused by her actions, couldn't help wondering if Flack might have been right with what he had said that night, and if she was honest with herself she had to admit that she felt guilty for sleeping with Mac even though she was still far from over Flack. Yet she couldn't deny that it had felt good to be with him, that she had enjoyed each of his touches, his kisses...

Eventually reminding herself of the fact that she had to get to work she hurried to get ready.

Heading out of her apartment a few minutes later Angell released a heavy sigh and chose to stop thinking about it - at least for the time being.

* * *

After he had left Angell's apartment Mac had stopped at his place to change quickly his clothes before hurrying over to the crime scene. Getting out of his car he couldn't help but sigh as he walked up to Flack, who was already waiting for him.

"What do you know so far?" Mac wanted to know before the other man had the chance to ask him any questions.

As Flack started filling him in on their newest case Mac forced himself to focus on what was said, though he had to admit that it was such a huge difficulty, considering that he simply couldn't get Angell off his mind.

It didn't take long before Flack was done with telling him the few things they already knew about the victim and somehow Mac was relieved that he could now start processing the scene and distract himself from his thoughts.

Another thing he was very grateful for was the fact that it didn't seem like Angell was gonna work on this case as well, knowing that he won't be able to focus on work if she was around him at the moment.

_Back at the lab, about two hours later :_

Entering his office he couldn't help but sigh as he caught sight of the huge pile of files on his desk. God, how he _**hated **_that part of his job, he could handle each and every other aspect of it, but paperwork? It was driving him insane, annoying him to such an incredible extent - but unfortunately it had to get done, so he might as well get right back to it while he had to wait for the autopsy report from Sid and the results of the tests Lindsay and Hawkes were running with the evidence from the scene.

Sitting down at his desk he took a deep breath and grabbed the file atop of the pile and started reading the first few pages.

A half hour and two files later Mac frowned in frustration, stifling a yawn and got up, knowing that if he wanted to make it through the day without falling asleep at his desk he was gonna need some caffeine.

Just as he had filled a cup with coffee and wanted to head back to his office Adam came his way and told him that he had found something interesting on the hard-drive of the victim's laptop.

Following him to the A/V lab he suppressed an angry curse due to the fact that he had gotten momentarily so lost in thought as he saw in the corner of his eye how Angell stepped out of the elevator that he had taken a sip of his coffee despite the fact that it was still steaming hot, the dark liquid burning painfully his mouth and throat.

However, he forced himself not to turn to look at her, knowing that he should better focus on what he was doing and actually listen to what Adam was saying, after all, he had a case to solve...He just _**couldn't **_let his mind drift off to the passed night right now - not when he had to catch a killer!

Though of course it was by far easier said than done...

"So, Montgomery was involved into identity theft?" Mac asked when Adam had finished telling him about his findings.

"Yeah..." Adam confirmed.

"Do you know how many people he has targetted?"

"Well, I can try to find it out - however, it will probably take a while..."

"Then you should get to it right away." Mac instructed just as his cell phone started ringing.

* * *

Stepping out of the elevator Angell released a soft sigh and went to search for Stella. The CSI had called her about twenty minutes earlier and had told her she should come to the lab. Somehow her curiosity concerning what Stella had found was killing her.

After all, there had to be a reason for her to ask her to come to the lab instead of just telling her on the phone what she had found. Well, maybe it was easier to simply show it to her - not that the reason really mattered to her.

As she reached the break-room Angell smiled when she saw Stella sitting at one of the tables, busy reading a file.

"Hey Stella, you said that you found something?" She stated, walking up to the CSI, causing Stella to look up and nod.

"Take a look at this..." She lifted the file she had been reading and handed it to Angell, who skimmed it quickly for the relevant info.

"Our vic used a fake id?"

"Yeah, and it's getting even stranger...She died to asphyxiation, the results from Tox showed that it was caused by tetrodotoxin." Stella said.

"Any idea how she got poisoned?" Jess wanted to know.

"Well, she made the mistake to eat Fugu that wasn't properly prepared. Sid found remains of it in her stomach contents. The problem is that we don't know yet where she ate it, or who cooked it for her, nor do we know how the cook got his hands on the Fugu." Stella paused to take a sip of coffee,

"After all, it's only sold to licensed restaurants - and before it's brought to the USA, the most toxic parts like the skin and liver are removed. Another thing is that if she ate the Fugu at a restaurant it would probably mean that it was just an accident, plus that possibility would have the bad side-effect that there could be more victims."

"So, we gotta find out where she ate the fish and where it came from." Angell mused and sighed, knowing that she was gonna be quite busy for the rest of the day.

"Exactly, Danny is currently searching her apartment once more to check if she might have actually cooked it herself. We're also already cross-referencing the recent activities of her bank-accounts with restaurants known to serve dishs with Fugu. Though of course someone else could have paid - or she paid it cash..." Stella stated and rose from the chair she was sitting on.

* * *

After heading to talk with Sid about the results of the autopsy and making a detour to check on whatever progress Lindsay and Hawkes had made so far, Mac sighed as he entered once more the break-room.

He simply needed more coffee, considering that he was already damn tired even though it was just around noon. But, well, forcing himself to push his thoughts aside and focus on work was simply more exhausting than he liked to admit.

Filling a cup with coffee he tried to stifle a yawn, what was pretty much pointless. Grabbing the cup Mac took a deep breath and turned around.

He couldn't help but hope that they would find the killer real soon, but so far it didn't look like he was gonna be that lucky.

Returning to his desk he took a seat and chose to take a quick look at the autopsy report and the results from Tox, before doing anything else.

However, it didn't take long before he sighed in frustration as he realized that he just couldn't focus on what he was reading. He was simply incapable of pushing the memories of the passed night away, and that fact was starting to upset him.

For Christ's sake he was used to being in control of his thoughts, his emotions - especially when he had to work! But at the moment he was everything but in control of himself, his mind kept returning to the same thoughts over and over again...Thoughts about Angell, thoughts about the passed night - there was simply nothing he could do to stay focused on the tasks at hand.

It was simply impossible to keep the memories from invading his mind - her smile, the taste of her lips, the feeling of her soft skin against his touch, the intoxicating scent of her perfume...

After some time of reminiscing Mac couldn't help but frown as he realized that he had to find himself some sort of distraction if he didn't want to go insane - and paperwork certainly won't do.

So he got up again and left his office, even though he wasn't quite sure yet of how to occupy himself the most effective way.

* * *

After questioning the employees of the first half of the restaurants with a license to sell dishs with Fugu, Angell couldn't help but sigh in frustration. This seemed just downright pointless, after all, even if one of those people recognized the victim, Mary Peterson, she seriously doubted that they would admit it.

No restaurant owner or chef would want to make it into the evening news due to someone dying after eating their food, so why would they admit to have seen the vic? Exactly, they would lie instead of taking the risk of getting all the bad press.

Nonetheless they had to find out whether Ms Peterson's death was more than an accident, and if so who had killed her, what meant that she and Stella had to head to the other restaurants as well.

Somehow she couldn't help but hope that they would solve this case in a few hours, considering that she had slightly trouble focusing.

Sighing once more Angell followed Stella to the car and opened the door on the passenger-side. As they drove off Stella wanted to know,

"Hey, you're okay?"

Hearing that Angell frowned and turned toward the CSI, before a small smile appeared on her lips and she shrugged.

"Just didn't get much sleep..." She paused for a moment, then she asked,

"How many other restaurants are on your list?"

"Four..."

"So, what if the restaurants turn out to be a dead end?"

"Good question...Well, maybe we know by then who she really was and why she used a fake identity." Stella replied.

"What could shed some light on who would have a motive to kill her."

"Hopefully..."

_The next evening at Angell's apartment, half-past nine :_

Opening her fridge Angell couldn't help but sigh. She had gotten home already an hour ago and was still unable to make up her mind about whether she should fix something for dinner herself or if she should simply order some takeout. Well, if she was honest she wasn't exactly in the mood to cook, and furthermore she couldn't really decide what she would like to eat either.

Just as she had eventually settled for ordering a pizza there was a knock at her door, causing her to sigh and put the phone back down, before heading to the door.

Opening the door Angell was slightly startled as she saw who it was. Mac...Well, of course it was Mac, who else would have a reason to visit her at this time of day?

Not trusting her voice enough to speak she simply stepped aside to let him in. After closing the door behind him she turned toward Mac though she didn't look at him.

"Listen Jess, about the other night..." Mac started eventually, but trailed off again.

Angell sighed and looked finally at his face.

"You don't have to explain, really Mac, I know that..." Before she could finish the sentence he silenced her with a soft kiss.

For a moment she was way too surprised as that she could react in any way, but when he wrapped his arms around her she couldn't keep a smile from crossing her face.

Breaking the kiss Mac lifted his right hand, letting his fingers slide through her hair, causing her eyes to fly shut again. He still wasn't too sure if it had been a smart idea to stop at her place instead of heading home right away. However, the need to see her had just become too urgent as that he could've kept ignoring it any longer.

When she looked back at him they locked eyes and she noticed the mix of emotions displayed in his deep, blue eyes - the uncertainty, the longing...Well, she was pretty sure that her face showed probably the exact same emotions at the moment and somehow it was comforting her that she wasn't the only confused one in this situation. Leaning in for another kiss Angell drew his face closer, deepening the kiss.

Mac couldn't help but smile against her lips as he felt her tugging impatiently on his shirt. A few seconds later he kissed softly her neck, before helping her undo the buttons. The moment he had taken the shirt off he pulled her close, their lips locking once more in such a passionate kiss.

Soon enough his t-shirt and her tank top accompanied his shirt on the floor as they headed to the bedroom.

_Some time later :_

As she was lying next to Mac, her head and right hand resting on his chest, Angell couldn't help but wonder once more about the meaning of what had happened between them. For a moment she simply closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingertips brushing softly over her arm and just listened to the even beat of his heart.

However, after a few minutes of thinking she turned onto her back and a short time later she said just above a whisper,

"Mac..."

"Yeah?" He asked as he let his fingers slide through her hair.

"Can I ask you something?" She wanted to know while sitting up.

Sitting up as well Mac smiled and replied,

"Sure, what is it?"

Angell sighed softly not sure of how to say it.

"I, eh...I need to..." She trailed off as she realized that her voice was shaking and glanced for a moment at him, eventually she looked away again and took a deep breath,

"I need to know if this is just some way of distracting yourself from your troubles. If it is you should better leave...Because I care about you, I respect you and I'm simply not that type of woman..." Angell went silent and bit her lower lip, not sure if she really wanted to hear his reply.

"Jess, please look at me..." Mac said softly after a moment, moving his left hand to her chin, trying to make her look at him, however, when she kept refusing he simply went on,

"Listen, this isn't just some sort of escape or distraction, okay? I would never do that to you..."

"You're sure?" Angell inquired, finally looking at him, her eyes and voice filled with uncertainty.

Mac smiled at her and stated,

"Yeah, I'm sure, Jess. I mean, to be honest I'm not sure what this is, but I'd like to see what it could become..." With that he kissed her.

Angell immediately relaxed, responding to his kiss with the same passion.

As they broke the kiss she admitted,

"Me too..."

Letting his fingers slide through her hair for a moment Mac told her,

"Glad to hear that."

After a moment he claimed her lips once more, his left hand winding into her hair while he wrapped his right arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He couldn't help but smile against her lips as he felt her hands wander over his chest, his smile even widening as she pushed him down onto the mattress.

Breaking the kiss Angell simply looked at him for a few seconds, before leaning down to share another passionate kiss with him. Only a moment later a soft chuckle escaped her mouth as she found herself on her back, Mac grinning mischievously down at her.

"You didn't see that coming, huh?" He asked, causing her to smile and shake softly her head no.

When he brushed a strand of hair out of her face Angell's eyes flew shut for a few seconds. Opening them again she locked eyes with Mac, her smile widening as he bent down to kiss her. Resting her hands on the back of his neck she drew him closer.

As he began trailing kisses down the side of her neck Mac couldn't help but smile against her skin when he heard her moan softly. A moment later he felt her fingernails dig into his back, scraping his skin, and he got a hold of her hands, pressing them down onto the mattress, next to her head, before returning his lips to hers.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked it...Anyways, please do me a favor and let me know what ya think!_


	3. 2 A great start

_**A/N:**__ This time only some smaller changes..._

* * *

**Guarding Angell**

_2. A great start_

Angell couldn't help smiling as she felt Mac's lips wander down the right side of her throat. God, she could really get used to this - to waking up in his arms, though she won't admit it if he asked her. After all, even though it had been now two weeks she was still not sure of what this was gonna lead to, still wasn't sure how she felt about him...

They had agreed on taking it slow; to keep it a secret for the time being - at least as long as they were not sure if it was actually gonna work, considering that it would be easier to figure it out if their colleagues didn't know.

Turning toward Mac she smiled at him and kissed him passionate. She could feel him smile against her lips as he drew her closer and came to the conclusion that there was nothing she wanted more than simply staying in bed with him all day...

But she knew that they couldn't do that, considering that they both had to get to work quite soon.

Sure enough it didn't take long before Mac broke the kiss and pointed out,

"We should better get up or we're gonna be late for work..."

"But I don't wanna get up yet...I wanna stay right here in your arms..." She protested, even though she knew that he was right,

"After all, we're both working _**so **_hard - we deserve being late for once..."

"I seriously doubt that Sinclair would see it that way - and neither will Captain Carlisle if you're late for your shift..." Mac paused and gave her a soft kiss, then he whispered into her ear,

"I promise I'll make it up to you after work..."

"What if I don't wanna wait 'til then? 'Cause in case you didn't notice yet - I can get damn impatient if I want something..."

Hearing that Mac chuckled.

"Actually I did notice..." He paused then he suggested,

"How about you already head to take a shower while I get the coffee-maker ready and join you then?"

Hearing that Angell could hardly keep herself from grinning, however, she forced a thoughtful expression on her face nonetheless, before stating,

"Sounds acceptable to me..."

"Glad to hear that." Mac said and kissed her tenderly, before sitting up and, putting on his boxers, getting up to go to the kitchen.

Angell on the other hand simply chose to stay a little longer in her bed. However, a moment later she forced herself to get up and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

Entering the kitchen Mac released a sigh. If he was honest with himself he had to admit that he would have prefered staying in bed with Angell, but unfortunately it was Monday morning and they both had to get to work.

Just as he returned to the bedroom he heard a shriek from the adjoining bathroom and hurried to check on Angell.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he walked into the room, a worried expression on his face.

"The water is as cold as ice..." Angell stated, causing Mac to raise an eyebrow,

"I almost got a freakin' heart-attack!" She pointed out.

"Don't ya think you're a bit young for having a heart-attack?" Mac inquired.

"That's _**so **_not the point, Mac...Besides - this isn't funny, you hear me? It's not funny at all." Angell retorted.

"Well, maybe it will get warmer if you wait for a while, after all, it's winter..." Mac said.

"It won't - it's each year the same crap when it's this cold outside..."

Before Mac was able to say anything in response to that Angell's cell phone began ringing causing her to let out a frustrated sigh. A moment later she grabbed a towel and, wrapping it around her, headed back to the bedroom to answer the call.

"Angell..." She listened for a moment then she stated,

"Yeah, I'll be there in twenty..."

Watching Angell drop the phone on the bed and letting her head and shoulders hang, Mac walked up to her and put his arms around her.

"New case?" He asked, placing a soft kiss onto the side of her neck.

"Yeah...A petty drug dealer was murdered..." Angell sighed,

"Well, I gotta go..."

_Later that day :_

Getting out of the car Angell sighed and following Flack she asked,

"You're sure he's here?"

"Yep..." He stated.

"Well, then...Let's go and get this idiot..." Angell mumbled and already headed into the direction of the piers.

"Someone's certainly in a bad mood...Was your weekend that terrible?" Flack inquired as he followed her, along with about a dozen uniforms.

"On the contrary - but the weekend is over...And furthermore I couldn't take a shower this morning - and then there's the fact that it's still impossible to take a warm shower when it's been as cold as last night..." Angell retorted,

"Anyways, do ya think he's gonna make trouble?"

"I dunno, what I know is that I prefer being on the safe side..." Flack replied and she nodded.

As Angell had reached their suspect she showed him her badge and started,

"I'm Detective Angell, NYPD, we need to..." But before she was able to finish the guy grabbed her and before she knew what was happening he pushed her over the edge of the pier.

Angell screamed, causing her to swallow water as she went under. As she surfaced again she gasped for air.

A moment later Flack crouched down on the pier and stretched out his hand to help her out of the icy water.

When she was standing next to him and noticed the grin on his face Angell glared at him and demanded to know,

"What's so goddamn funny, Flack?"

"Well, just a few minutes ago you complained that you couldn't take a shower..." Flack replied, trying hard not to laugh.

"Very funny, Flack! How about I push you in there?" Angell retorted angrily, already grabbing Flack's wrist and pulling at him.

"You're right - it's not funny...But it could be worse, right?" Flack tried to calm her down.

"Like what?"

"Well, considering that it's winter - the water could have also been frozen and then you won't be soaked now, but would have quite some bruises tomorrow..." Flack said, a serious expression on his face,

"Anyways, let's get you home so you can change into some dry clothes..."

"And what about Romano?"

"The uniformed officers will find him and bring him to the precinct...Come on, let's go..." Flack told her and after a moment of hesitation she followed him to his car.

After all, he was right she was soaked to her bones - if she kept the wet clothes on she would probably get sick.

_Twenty minutes later :_

As Flack stopped his car in front of the apartment-building Angell turned to look at him. Noticing the thoughtful frown on his face she asked,

"You're okay?"

"Eh, yeah..." Flack mumbled in response, then he added,

"I see you at the precinct..."

Angell nodded, somehow she could understand that he didn't want to come in while she changed clothes and what would be the point if he waited for her anyways?

Unlocking the front-door she let out a sigh, she still felt bad for hurting Flack...Sure, he had been the one to call it off, but he had only ended it, because he had come to the conclusion that she didn't feel the same - he had only set her free, because he had suspected that she loved Mac and it couldn't work between them under these circumstances.

Entering her apartment she wondered how much longer it would take 'til things between her and Flack would get back to how they used to be before they had gotten involved.

She wasn't sure for how much longer she could take this, it was simply so painful how things were at the moment. They both acted as if everything was just fine, even though they both knew that it wasn't. It felt to both of them awkward to be around each other, probably that was the worst part of it, that damn awkwardness...

When they talked it was like they forced themselves to pay attention not to say something that could be misunderstood, avoiding to mention anything related to their failed relationship - everything that could intensify the hurt caused by their break-up...One of the words that had been basically banned from their conversations was Mac's name - sure he was mentioned, after all, they both worked with him, but only if absolutely necessary and even then they didn't mention him by name...Though they didn't mention his name due to different reasons, she didn't mention it because she didn't wanna hurt Flack, while Flack didn't mention it because he was worried that it might sound like an accusation to her (at least that was her explanation and she certainly won't ask him about it).

At that thought Angell couldn't help but frown, wondering how Flack was gonna take it when he found out that she and Mac had started a relationship. The simple thought of Flack finding out about it scared the hell out of her! And that was one of the main reasons why she had been more than willing to agree when Mac had suggested that their colleagues shouldn't know about "them" yet.

Another sigh escaped her as she reminded herself that she had to get back to work. By now she had changed into an olive-green t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans and headed to the bathroom to blow-dry her hair.

On her way out she grabbed a khaki-colored sweat-shirt-jacket and put it hurriedly on.

_At Angell's apartment, half-past nine PM :_

Hearing a knock at her door a happy smile appeared on Angell's face and she got up.

Opening the door her smile widened as she saw Mac and that he had brought some Thai takeout.

"Come in..." She stated and stepped aside.

As they sat on the couch a few minutes later and started eating Mac asked,

"Why didn't you stay at home after your involuntary bath in the Hudson River?"

"First of all, because I'm alright and second and utmost I wanted to kick this scumbag's ass for pushing me into the icy water." Angell replied, causing Mac to chuckle.

"I'm sure you made him regret that for the rest of his life." Mac said after a moment.

"Most definitely..." Angell emphasized and leaned back against Mac's chest.

_Around two AM :_

Angell wasn't sure for how long she had been sleeping when the ringing of a cell phone woke her. A moment later she felt Mac sit up to check the message he had received and heard him sigh.

Another few seconds passed before he turned toward her and told her,

"I gotta go...New case..." With that he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss onto her forehead.

"I see you later..." Angell mumbled in response and sat slightly up, watching Mac getting dressed.

When he had left she laid back down and soon drifted off to sleep again.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for reading! Please take the time to REVIEW since I'd really appreciate to know what you think about this story!_


	4. 3 Sick

_**A/N:**__ Only some minor changes..._

* * *

**Guarding Angell**

_3. Sick_

As Angell woke up again she couldn't help pulling the sheets tighter around her, feeling like she was freezing to death - even though her entire body was covered in sweat. A moment later she started coughing and frowned angrily due to her sore throat.

Rising slightly from the bed she took a quick glance at the alarm clock and released a heavy sigh, realizing that if she didn't get up now and hurried a bit up she was gonna be late for work.

The moment she was standing her surroundings began spinning and Angell closed momentarily her eyes until the dizziness had faded, before she headed into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Damnit, she could kill this scumbag who had pushed her into the Hudson the passed day! Sure, it was only a cold and she had no intention of letting this get her down, but she already knew that people at work would get worried 'bout her and would tell her to take the day off - and she simply hated that! After all, she wasn't the type of person to call in sick - especially if it was just a stupid cold.

When she left her apartment a half hour later she couldn't help but shiver, causing her to hurry to get inside her car. On the way to the precinct her cell phone started ringing and she hurried to answer the call.

_At a new crime scene, twenty minutes later :_

Getting out of her car Angell began shivering again and cursed silently. Why hadn't she taken a warmer jacket with her when she had left her apartment?

Well, she had thought she won't need one considering that it was warmer than the passed day and furthermore she hadn't felt cold when she had left.

Now, however, she was freezing. And the fact that she had arrived at the scene after Stella, Danny and Hawkes was just upsetting her even more at the moment.

"What do we got here?" She asked, forcing her voice to sound normal. Damnit, she hated to show up at a crime scene and basically not knowing anything about the victim, the crime...For Christ's sake, she was the cop - she was supposed to answer the questions of the CSIs, it wasn't supposed to be the other way 'round!

"Triple homocide - the other two victims are in the other room. They were all killed execution-style..." Hawkes pointed at the gunshot wound on the forehead of the young man,

"He was the son of the other two vics...They were killed around 8 PM last night."

"Who found them?" Angell inquired, and a pained expression crossed her face due to the pain in her throat.

"Eh, the maid found them this morning..." Stella paused for a moment, a concerned expression on her face, then she wanted to know,

"You're okay?"

"Yeah, just a sore throat." Angell replied, her voice cracking at the end.

* * *

Returning to his office Mac tried to stifle a yawn. He should certainly get more sleep, but there was nothing he could do about being called in on cases in the middle of the night, now was there?

Well, it had never really bothered him when he had been called to a crime scene in the early morning hours or late at night either, not until more recently that was. However, in the last time it had started to get to him and also to annoy him quite a lot to be called in to work at two in the morning like during the passed night.

If he was honest with himself he had to admit that he knew why it was suddenly bothering him as well as why he wasn't getting enough sleep anymore - it was because of Angell...When he was with her he barely slept because he couldn't help watching her sleep, and when he was without her he couldn't sleep because he missed her, because he missed the warmth of her body next to him...

At that thought a sigh escaped his mouth. He didn't like to admit that Angell was affecting him to such an extent. After he had lost Claire he had avoided getting romantically involved with another woman for a very long time, and even during his relationship with Peyton he had kept a certain distance between them, had never really let his guards completely down.

With Angell it was different, he just couldn't get her off his mind when they were apart...Well, it wasn't exactly affecting him on the job - sure, the day after that first night they had spent together had been tough, but by now he managed to focus on his tasks again, even when they worked on the same case. He managed to act one-hundred-percent professional around her as well, though he couldn't deny that he was tempted to just draw her into his arms and share a kiss with her at times, but he had enough self-control to resist that urge - even though she seemed to have noticed it and tried to make him simply give in...

Shaking slowly his head Mac took a seat at his desk and forced himself to focus on the tasks at hand.

* * *

Taking a sip of her coffee Angell let her shoulders hang and sat down at her desk. Beside the sore throat and the fact that she felt permanently like she was freezing to death she could now also feel a terrible headache forming in her skull.

Well, if she wasn't mistaken there should be some aspirin in one of the drawers of her desk. While she was busy rummaging the drawers for the aspririn she didn't notice Flack walking up to her and sitting down on the edge of her desk.

"What are you looking for?" Flack asked eventually causing Angell's head to jerk up and look at him.

"I'm looking for the damn aspirin that should be somewhere in one of these damn drawers!" She had to pause several time as she began coughing.

"Why don't you go home? After all, you're in no condition to work..." Flack stated.

"Well, I got five words for you - triple homocide and killer to catch..." Angell pointed out, once again being interrupted by coughs,

"I gotta get to the lab..." She added after her coughs had subsided and got hurriedly up.

However, the moment she was standing she wished she hadn't gotten up this fast considering that everything around her was spinning again.

Seeing Angell swaying Flack got a hold of her one arm and gave her a worried look.

"I'm fine!" Angell forced over her lips and glared at him, before he could say something and Flack raised his hands in surrender.

The moment he had let go of her arm Angell stormed out of the precinct, causing Flack to sigh. Why did he even waste energy on trying to make her go home and get some rest? After all, he knew how stubborn Angell was...Well, the answer was simple - he still cared a lot about her and he didn't want her to work in her current state. But he wasn't in the position to tell her what to do and what not, he probably had never been in that position, probably never had that right.

Flack hurried to push that thought aside and to get to his desk to focus on his own tasks, considering that thinking about his relationship with Angell was not only pretty much pointless, but also incredible painful.

_At the lab, twenty-five minutes later :_

Angell tried hard to listen to what Stella was telling her - really she tried - but she just couldn't focus on the words that came from the CSI's mouth. Instead they transformed into a complete mess in her head and no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't untangle them.

"Sorry, but you lost me..." Angell mumbled after a while in defeat.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Stella wanted to know.

Angell sighed and nodded, before giving the CSI a questioning glance.

"Well, so far we basically didn't find any traces of the killer. And what's even stranger is that Michael Davies and his family didn't exist until fifteen years ago..." Stella repeated what she had just told Angell.

"You already have an explanation for that?"

"Nope, I thought maybe you could help me figuring it out..."

"That sounds as if there's a huge 'but' to follow..." Angell pointed out and frowned.

"Well, it's just you seem like you're not feeling too well." Stella said and gave her a concerned glance.

_Back at the precinct :_

Filling a cup with coffee Angell couldn't help releasing a heavy sigh. If she was honest with herself she was feeling terrible but there was a case to solve and it was just a damn cold, right?

As she put the coffee-pot back down she closed her eyes for a moment and took some deep breaths, before heading back to her desk.

She needed to know why the victims in her case hadn't existed until fifteen years ago...Were they in Witness Protection? And if so, why? But most important - who had killed them?

That were just a few questions she needed to answer and before she hadn't found the answers to those questions she won't take a break!

After a while Flack sat once more down on the edge of her desk and she gave him an annoyed glance.

"What do you want this time?" Angell asked barely audible.

"I wanted to know how you're doing, that's all..." He reached with his right hand for her face and rested it on her forehead, causing Angell's eyes to fly shut.

His cool hand was feeling good on her skin, considering that she felt like she was on fire...

"My God, Jess, your skin is almost burning..."

Angell opened slowly her eyes and just glared at him for a moment. As she was about to say something in response Carlisle called Flack into his office and Angell couldn't keep a mean grin from crossing her face, wondering in what sort of trouble Flack had gotten himself.

Flack had a bad feeling about this, wondering if he was in trouble for something without even knowing.

"How's it going with the Stevens case?" The Captain asked the moment Flack had reached him.

"Well, we're making progress..." Flack replied,

"We already got a suspect - we just need to find enough solid evidence against him before we can put him behind bars..."

"Good, then you can work simultaneously on the Davies case as well."

For a moment Flack was startled, but before he could say something in response his boss ordered,

"Now get Angell outta here and make sure she gets some rest."

Flack frowned and was already about to protest, knowing that Angell was gonna be furious because of this, when he realized that Captain Carlisle was right and he didn't have much of a choice anyways.

"Okay..." With that Flack turned and headed back to Angell.

When he had reached her he stated,

"Come Jess, let's go..."

"What?" She gave him a puzzled look.

Flack sighed, then he replied,

"The Captain wants me to bring you home so you can get some rest..."

"Are you kidding? What about my case, huh? I got a triple homocide to solve!" Angell almost yelled, only almost because her voice cracked in the middle of her outburst and she could barely continue.

"I gonna take over for ya...And before you think about tearing my head off - it wasn't my idea, okay? Besides we both know that you need a break, you're running a quite high fever and can barely focus..." Flack pointed out to her,

"So, let's go..."

* * *

Checking his watch Mac sighed. He was _**so **_damn tired! But even though they already had a suspect the case wasn't solved yet, and until it was solved he couldn't call it a day and leave the lab to get some sleep.

And in the meantime coffee would have to do and keep him from falling asleep at his desk.

Hearing a knock at his door Mac looked up from the report he had been reading.

"What's up?" He asked, looking at Flack, and got up.

"Well, I might have found the murder-weapon..." Flack lifted his right hand, which was holding a transparant evidence bag.

"Where did you find it?" Mac asked as he had reached him and took the bag from his hand.

"In a dumpster a few blocks away from our suspect's apartment." Flack replied and smiled.

Before Mac was able to say anything in response Flack's cell phone began ringing and the younger man hurried to answer the call.

"What's up, Stella?" Flack listened for a moment then he said,

"I'll be right there..." After hanging up he sighed and told Mac,

"Well, I gotta go...Stella might have found something in the Davies case..."

"I thought that's Angell's case..." Mac pointed out, unable to keep himself from worrying.

"Not anymore...The Captain told me to bring her home and take over the investigation about an hour ago." Flack explained.

"Why?"

"She's sick, could hardly focus..." Flack shrugged and sighed,

"I had to basically carry her out of the precinct...Anyways, call me when you're done with the gun..."

"Sure..." Mac stated and watched Flack leave.

For a moment he was tempted to call Angell to figure out how she was doing, but eventually he decided against it. After all, she would probably only tell him that she was okay anyways.

_At Angell's apartment, around 8 PM :_

As he unlocked the door of the apartment Mac tried to avoid making any noise in case that Angell was already sleeping.

However, it didn't take long before he found her sitting on the couch, watching _"Gone With The Wind"_. When she noticed him approaching Angell paused the movie and looked at him, a weak smile on her face.

"Hey..." She mumbled and watched him coming closer.

Sitting down next to her and putting his right arm around her he wanted to know,

"How are you?"

Angell sighed and, snuggling closer to him, she replied,

"Angry..."

"At whom?" Mac inquired.

"The Captain, Flack...That son-of-a-bitch who pushed me into the Hudson River yesterday..."

"Have you already eaten something for dinner?"

"Not hungry..." Angell muttered and rested her forehead against Mac's chest.

"How about getting some sleep?"

"Okay..."

_A few minutes later :_

Caressing softly Angell's arm Mac couldn't help but frown concerned. Not even a minute had passed after they had laid down before Angell had already fallen asleep and judging by the heat radiating from her skin she was running a fever.

It had probably really been the best that Flack had brought her home, considering that she really seemed to be quite sick.

However, it surprised him somehow how quickly Angell had become sick. When he had left the passed night she had still seemed okay.

A sigh escaped his mouth as he came to the conclusion that he should probably better get some sleep himself instead of thinking this much about it. After all, Angell won't feel better faster if he kept wondering about this and furthermore he was quite exhausted himself...

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Hope you liked it! Please take the time to REVIEW, I'd really appreciate the feedback!_


	5. 4 From bad to worse

_**A/N:** __Once again no major changes...Have fun reading!_

* * *

**Guarding Angell**

_4. From bad to worse_

As Mac was woken by the ringing of his cell phone he sat quietly up and took a quick glance at the message he had received. A moment later he turned to look at Angell who was still deep asleep.

Stretching out his right hand and caressing softly her cheek for a moment Mac frowned. Angell was still running a fever, her breathing was laboured and she was tossing from one side to the other.

"Jess?" Mac said softly, trying to wake her up. When she kept sleeping he sighed and let his fingers slide through her hair, before bending down and giving her a soft kiss onto her forehead.

For a moment he thought about staying with Angell and leave solving the case to his colleagues, but eventually he came to the conclusion that she won't want that so he got up and went to get dressed.

_At the crime scene :_

Getting out of his car Mac released a heavy sigh. He simply couldn't stop thinking about Angell, couldn't stop worrying about her. Taking a mental note to call her later to make sure that she was okay Mac headed over to his colleagues and the body.

"So, what do we got here?" Mac asked, taking a look at the vic.

The victim seemed to have been stabbed multiple times into his chest and abdomen, though there was no way of already telling which of the wounds had been the one that had killed the guy.

"Well, there are no signs of forced entry so it's quite likely that he knew his killer and let him in." Flack told him, taking a quick glance at his notes,

"One of the neighbors called it in...Said he had heard screams and a lot of noise. That was about an hour ago." He trailed off and sighed as his cell phone began ringing and he hurried to answer the call.

After hanging up Flack sighed once more and told them,

"I gotta go..."

Mac nodded and watched Flack leave before taking a deep breath and focusing his attention back on the body, forcing himself to stop thinking about Angell for the time being.

* * *

Stepping out of the shower Angell sighed and hurried to get dressed. She was absolutely determined to work, after all, her case wasn't closed yet and she simply didn't like the thought of Flack solving _**her **_case!

And today she won't let _**anybody **_send her home!

_At the precinct :_

As she was reading the autopsy report Angell sighed and frowned for a moment. Eventually she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Stella's number.

The moment the CSI answered the call Angell wanted to know,

"Did you already figure out the victims' real identities?"

_"Angell, I thought you were off the case..."_ Stella replied, causing Angell to frown again.

"Well, then the person who said that was wrong...Anyways, what about the identity of the victims?" Angell inquired.

_"We still don't know who they were or why they changed their names - however, it doesn't seem like they were in Witness Protection, if they had been the Marshalls would be all over this case by now."_

"True...Is there any way to determine where they came from? Maybe that could help us finding out who they were and who could've had a motive to kill them."

_"Well, sure there are tests we could run to find that out, however, it will take a while..." _Stella said,

_"On the other hand it might help us solve this case..."_

"Exactly, and at least then we'd do something useful." Angell pointed out.

A moment later they hung up.

Just as Angell was about to focus her attention back on the files in front of her Flack appeared next to her, a deep frown on his face and inquired,

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm working - as you might be able to see...After all, I still got a case to solve." Angell replied, looking up at him.

"You're aware of the fact that Carlisle pulled you off the case yesterday, don't you? He's not gonna like hearing that you ignored his order."

"Who says that you have to tell him? And besides I'm doing much better, okay? - I can work!" She stated and glared at her colleague.

"If you say so..." Flack surrendered, apparently not in the mood to argue about the issue, and headed to his own desk.

_In front of a warehouse, around noon :_

They had received a tip on a suspect in the case and had headed to arrest him after doing some checking on the guy in question.

His name was Viktor Sanchez, he had a long record that included drug dealing as well as numerous violent crimes, furthermore he had ties to the Russian mob and several different drug cartels. Therefore he was believed to be quite dangerous and they were certain that he would be most definitely armed.

On the way over Flack had glanced in the rearview mirror over and over again to take a look at Angell, who was sitting on the backseat, being incapable of stopping to ask himself why he had agreed on letting her tag along to the warehouse. But now it was too late anyways, they were almost there and there was no way that he could change his mind about it now...

As Angell got out of the car along with him and Stella, Flack exclaimed,

"What are you doing? We had a deal, remember? I let you come with us under the condition that you would stay in the car - you _**promised **_you would stay in the car!"

Watching Stella already head toward the entrance of the warehouse, Angell smirked and replied, while checking her bullet-proof vest,

"Well, I lied...Did you really think that I would let you do this alone? - This is _**my **_case, I'm not gonna wait in the car while _**you **_arrest _**my **_suspect!"

Hearing that Flack rolled with his eyes and sighed. He should've seen this coming, shouldn't he? After all, he knew how stubborn Angell was, he should've known that there was no way she would really stay in the car.

"So, can we go in there and get this guy now?" Angell interrupted his train of thought and he sighed once more.

After another moment he, Stella and Angell, along with a SWAT team and several unis headed into the warehouse and split up to scan the area faster.

_About twenty minutes later :_

So far nobody had even caught a glimpse of Sanchez - it was frustrating, but then again the warehouse was quite huge.

Turning yet another corner Angell paused and released a heavy sigh, letting her head hang and closing her eyes for a moment. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all...

She felt dizzy again, her skull felt like it was about to explode and she wasn't all too sure about how much longer her legs would hold her up. However, she wasn't willing to give Flack the satisfaction to admit that she was actually feeling terrible and head back to the car - not before they had caught Sanchez!

When the dizziness had slightly faded away she continued on her way. However, only a moment later she stopped once more as she started coughing.

Just as her coughs had subsided and she looked up Angell saw Sanchez appearing basically out of nowhere only a few feet in front of her. He was smirking at her and pointed his gun at her, his finger tightening around the trigger, before she had a chance to react.

_Meanwhile :_

Flack wasn't quite sure for how long they were already inside the warehouse when he heard shots and somebody stated over the radio that Sanchez and an officer were down.

Heading quickly into the direction where the shots had come from, he couldn't help worrying. As he rounded a corner he saw a member of the SWAT team leaning over Sanchez, who had been shot in the knee. Letting his eyes wander he froze for a moment when he saw Angell lying on the ground a few feet away from Sanchez. Hurrying over and crouching down next to her he frowned as he noticed that she was unconscious.

Checking her for injuries he saw that there were two bullets stuck in her vest, however, the only blood he could see was coming from a wound on her arm, where another bullet had grazed her.

Stretching out his right hand to check her pulse his frown was replaced by a worried expression when he realized how hot her skin was. His worry even grew due to the fact that her heart was basically racing and she was barely breathing.

"We need an ambulance!" He shouted, before focusing his attention back on Angell.

"Come on, Jess, look at me..." Flack stated, and started shaking her. When she didn't show any reaction, he slapped her lightly, trying to make her wake up. After a moment her eyes fluttered open for a few seconds, but before Flack could say or ask something they closed again and Angell drifted off to unconsciousness again.

"Two ambulances are on the way over here..." He heard Stella say and Flack looked for a moment up at her, after a moment she asked,

"What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know...She's running a quite high fever again..." He trailed off as he heard the sound of a siren getting closer.

Only a moment later two paramedics approached them. One of them headed over to Sanchez to check on him, while the other one crouched down next to Angell. After the young woman had checked Angell's vitals she gave her colleague a sign to come over, apparently deciding that it was more urgent to bring Angell to the hospital than Sanchez.

When the two paramedics lifted Angell onto the stretcher and went to head back to the ambulance Flack straightened up and handed Stella his car-keys while telling her,

"I'll tag along with them."

Seeing her nod he turned around and hurried to follow the paramedics.

_A few minutes later :_

"For how long is she already sick?" One of the paramedics asked as they drove away from the warehouse.

"Eh, since yesterday..." Flack replied, squeezing lightly Angell's hand.

"Has she recently been sick before that?"

"Nope..." A worried frown appeared on his face as he came to the conclusion that he couldn't remember that Angell had _**ever **_been sick - not even once since she had transfered to the 12th precinct...As he wondered what could be wrong with her he began to brush absentmindedly his thumb over the back of her hand.

* * *

As she was slowly starting to regain consciousness Angell got aware of the fact that she was lying in a bed and that someone was wrapping something around her upper left arm. In the distance she heard something beep and there was someone talking, but she couldn't make out what was said.

After a moment of consideration Angell opened slowly her eyes, though she squeezed them shut again almost immediately as the bright light surrounding her caused the pain in her skull to increase rapidly.

When she forced her eyes open again she couldn't help but frown while taking a look at her surroundings. She was lying in a hospital-bed, next to the nightstand to her left there was an ECG monitor standing. Taking a glance at where the bullet had grazed her arm she saw that the wound was now covered by a bandage, another thing she noticed was that she was wearing a hospital-gown.

Sitting up she saw Flack standing a few feet away. He was talking with another man, who she suspected to be a doctor.

"...She won't be able to get back to work for at least a week..." The young Latino said now.

Hearing that Angell couldn't help but exclaim angrily,

"What?"

The two men turned toward her and the doctor stated,

"Like I was just telling your colleague, you're having a serious bronchitis." He trailed off as a cell phone started ringing and Flack hurried to answer the call while leaving the room, after a moment of silence the doctor went on,

"It's absolutely crucial that you get a lot of rest in the next time, otherwise this can quickly turn into pneumonia - which would cause you to miss by far more days of work than just a week. Furthermore I'd like to keep you here overnight, considering that I'm quite concerned by your extremely high fever and your increased heart-rate..."

"There's no way I'm gonna stay here!" Angell interrupted, causing the doctor to nod.

"Your colleague mentioned that you probably won't like that idea..."

Leaving the room Flack couldn't help but sigh. Though he was of course relieved by the fact that Angell had finally regained consciousness he was still damn worried about her, after all, judging by what the doctor had told him she was quite sick. However, after the first shock had subsided he had also become more and more angry, especially because Captain Carlisle had already made clear how angry he was due to what had happened...

_**Flashback :**_

_They had just taken Angell to one of the examination-rooms when his cell phone started ringing, causing him to snap out of his thoughts._

_When he answered the call he immediately heard his boss state sharply,_

_"Get to the precinct __**now**__!"_

_Before he was able to reply in any kind of way the other man had hung up, causing Flack to release a heavy sigh. For a moment he felt torn between staying at the hospital 'til he could be sure that Angell was alright and following his boss' order._

_Coming eventually to the conclusion that there was no use of waiting, considering that there was nothing he could do at the hospital anyways and he was already in enough of trouble - even without ignoring his boss' order - he sighed once more and went to leave._

_At the precinct, about twenty minutes later :_

_After he had needed to wait several minutes for a cab - considering that his car was parked at the precinct - Flack took a deep breath and went to his supervisor's office. Knocking against the closed door he couldn't help wondering how Angell was doing._

_"Come in!" His boss called and he opened the door._

_When he had closed the door Flack gave the other man a questioning glance._

_"Would you mind telling me what happened at the warehouse - and more importantly what Angell was doing there in the first place?" As Flack opened his mouth to reply Carlisle raised his hand and continued,_

_"I wasn't finished yet...When I heard about the incident at the warehouse I couldn't help but wonder if I hadn't been clear enough yesterday. Did or did I not pull Detective Angell off the case?"_

_"She said she was doing better and insisted on coming along..." Flack stated._

_"So, you simply ignored my order and let her go with you instead of telling her to go home?" The older man yelled._

_"Yeah..." Flack admitted._

_"I assume that you're aware of the fact that this will have consequences for you..." He paused and looked at Flack who simply nodded in response,_

_"Anyways do you already know what's wrong with her?"_

_"No, they had just started examining her when you called."_

_Carlisle nodded and remained quiet for a moment then he ordered,_

_"Alright, I want you to head back to the hospital. Considering that I seriously doubt that they will manage to make Angell stay there I want you to wait there and bring her home before coming back here...Oh, and you can tell her that she should better not even think about showing up here until I can be certain that she's healthy again!"_

_"Sure." Flack said._

_"Good, that would be everything for now."_

_**End flashback**_

After he had left his boss' office he had first went to his desk to get his keys before he had left to get back to the hospital.

When he had arrived there they had still been busy examining Angell and he had been unable to keep himself from getting lost in his thoughts while he had needed to wait. He had kept asking himself over and over again why he had let Angell come to the warehouse in the first place...

_"Flack?" _He heard Mac's voice on the other end of the line, reminding him of the cell phone in his hand.

"Sorry...What were you saying?" Flack mumbled after a moment of silence.

_"I asked if you're still at the hospital." _Mac stated.

For a moment Flack wondered how Mac knew that he was at the hospital, before coming to the conclusion that Stella had probably told him about what had happened, eventually he replied,

"Eh, yeah...Why are you asking?"

_"Well, we might have a suspect in the Humphrey case..." _Mac paused for a few seconds then he wanted to know,

_"So, how's Angell doing?"_

"She has a bronchitis...The doctor isn't quite sure for how long she won't be able to work, he said it depends on whether she gets enough rest and on how fast the meds take effect..."

They kept talking for a while, mainly about the case, before they ended the conversation. After pocketing his cell phone Flack took another deep breath and went to check on Angell.

Looking around he noticed that the doctor had left the room while he had been on the phone. Angell was still sitting on the bed and one look was enough for him to tell that she was quite annoyed.

"Hey, how are you?" Flack asked eventually while walking up to her.

"I'm fine..." Angell assured smiling,

"It's no big deal."

"No big deal? - Are you kidding?" Flack yelled, as his anger boiled over, causing Angell's smile to disappear,

"Damnit Jess, you could be dead!"

"But I'm not! The bullet just grazed my arm for Christ's sake!" Angell retorted and glared at him.

Flack only shook his head in disbelief for a moment before stating,

"Just for the record the Captain is goddamn furious because of this - and he told me to let you know that he doesn't want to see you even near the precinct 'til Dr Gomez has cleared you for the field!" He trailed off when Angell grabbed her clothes from the chair next to the bed, for a moment he just frowned, however, when she pulled off the hospital-gown she was wearing he wanted to know,

"What the hell are you doing?"

Hearing that Angell smirked and raised an eye-brow, while pointing out,

"I think that's quite obvious - I'm changing clothes." With that she put on her red camisole.

Flack sighed, shook his head and replied sharply,

"I see that...What I wanna know is the reason, after all, you heard what the doctor said - it would be best if you stayed at least over the night here at the hospital."

"I already told him that I have no intention on doing so. And besides, I seriously doubt that you're really surprised by that fact."

By now she was fully dressed and put on her boots and jacket.

"True, I'm not surprised, but that doesn't mean that I also think that it's wise of you to ignore the doctor's advice - after all, according to him you're quite sick..." Flack said in response and sighed as she simply headed for the door.

Opening it she turned back to Flack and stated,

"I can take care of myself and beside that - I'm fine."

"Right...Wasn't that what you said earlier as well?" Flack responded bitterly and gave her a look, that made quite clear to her how upset he was,

"Well, we both know that was a lie - and that that lie could have gotten you killed..."

Angell couldn't help but roll her eyes at that and asked,

"What is your actual problem, Flack?"

"You lied to me, that's my problem! My problem is that I made unfortunately the mistake to trust you - and that fact got you almost killed!" He yelled in response.

Angell didn't reply to that, being worried that if she replied her anger might cause her to say something she would regret later, instead she bit her bottom lip and turned to leave.

After a moment Flack sighed and followed her. While Angell was filling out the necessary papers to leave he waited patiently and asked himself once more if things between them would ever be like they used to be before they had gotten involved with each other.

As they stepped out of the building a few minutes later Flack stated,

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

Angell frowned for a moment, but remained quiet and simply followed him to his car.

_About thirty minutes later :_

As he stopped in front of the apartment-building they exchanged a look and Flack pointed out,

"You should really get some rest..."

Angell couldn't help but sigh, then she mumbled,

"Sure...I'll see you at work." With that she unbuckled the seatbelt and got out of the car.

As she went to unlock the front-door she could feel that Flack was watching her, apparently wanting to make sure that she really went inside. Opening the door she turned to look at the car once more, before she entered the building.

After closing the door of her apartment Angell sighed again and, considering the throbbing headache that had formed in her skull since leaving the hospital, headed straight to her bedroom.

Entering the adjoining bathroom Angell began pulling off her clothes, before grabbing a dark t-shirt Mac had left the other morning from the rim of the bath-tub and putting it on. Padding back into the bedroom she stopped in the middle of the room, contemplating for a moment about whether she should maybe make herself some tea before trying to get some sleep.

However, eventually she decided against it, being too lazy to head to the kitchen, and simply went to her bed. Lying down she sighed softly and pulled the sheets tightly around herself.

* * *

Going through some files Mac tried hard to focus on what he was reading, but it was basically an impossibility to keep his mind from drifting off to Angell. Ever since he had heard about what had happened at the warehouse he couldn't stop worrying about her...

_Flashback :_

_He had just finished talking with Hawkes and was on his way back to his office when he saw Stella coming his way._

_"Hey, I thought you had gone to arrest a suspect in the Davies case?" He inquired as she had reached him._

_"I did, but things went unfortunately not according to the plan..." Stella started and released a sigh, causing Mac to frown._

_"What happened?"_

_Stella sighed once more and replied,_

_"Like I told you earlier Angell is already back to work...And somehow she convinced Flack to let her come along to the warehouse." She paused for a few seconds, then she said,_

_"After we had entered the warehouse we split up and some time later there were shots fired and one of the SWAT agents announced over the radio that our suspect, Viktor Sanchez, and a cop were injured. It turned out that the SWAT agent had taken down Sanchez after he had shot at Angell. I don't know what exactly happened, but apparently our suspect must have surprised her, considering that she didn't shoot back..." Stella trailed off._

_While listening to Stella, Mac felt how his heart started racing. When his friend had gone silent he tried hard to remain calm and keep his emotions from showing while forcing himself to ask,_

_"Is she okay?"_

_Stella took a deep breath and stated,_

_"Well, Sanchez fired three shots, two of the bullets hit her bullet-proof vest, the third grazed her arm. However, it seems like she's really quite sick...When I got there she was unconscious and according to Flack she was running a quite high fever again...He went to the hospital with her..."_

_Hearing that a sigh escaped his mouth as Mac fought against the urge to storm out of the building and head to the hospital himself to make sure that Angell was gonna be okay._

_End flashback_

At the memory of his conversation with Stella Mac couldn't help but frown as his anger returned and he wondered once more why the hell Flack had let Angell go with them when they had gone to arrest Sanchez.

After all, this hadn't even been Angell's case anymore, so why hadn't she stayed at home and gotten some rest instead of going to work?

Releasing a heavy sigh Mac forced himself to stop thinking about it. First of all there was nothing he could do about Angell's condition, furthermore he should focus on the case at hand, considering that their suspect had turned out to have a solid alibi and therefore they were still no closer to solving the case.

_At Angell's apartment, around half-past ten PM :_

Mac couldn't help but sigh as he closed quietly the door behind him. After they had run out of leads they had chosen to call it a day and take a break, before they would go through all the evidence once more the next morning.

Entering the bedroom he paused for a moment and just looked at Angell, who was lying in bed and was apparently deep asleep. Eventually he went to the adjoining bathroom to change clothes, while trying to be as quiet as possible.

Angell wasn't quite sure what had woken her, but she didn't really care anways. Sitting slightly up she noticed that the light in the bathroom was on and let out a soft sigh before lying back down and waiting for Mac.

When he returned to the bedroom Mac was slightly startled as he heard Angell say quietly,

"Hey..."

Sitting down on the bed he replied,

"Hey yourself...I thought you were sleeping..."

Turning onto her back Angell smiled up at him, but remained quiet. After a moment Mac reached for her face and caressed softly her cheek, causing her to close her eyes.

"How are you doing?" Mac asked eventually.

Looking back at him her smile widened and she stated,

"A bit better..."

Mac frowned for a few seconds then he wanted to know,

"What about your arm?" Seeing the surprise on her face he added,

"I heard about what happened at the warehouse."

"Well, it's nothing - you don't need to worry, okay?"

"But I do, after all, you could've been killed by that guy. Why did you actually insist on going to the warehouse as well?"

Hearing that Angell sighed and sat up, before pointing out,

"First of all, I was feeling better and furthermore I don't like sitting at home while someone else is doing my job...I just hated the idea of Flack solving _**my**_ case..." She gave him a stubborn look and Mac shook slowly his head,

"And yeah, I do realize how that sounds..."

At that Mac couldn't help but smirk, he drew her into a tight embrace and gave her a soft kiss onto her forehead. After a moment he pulled back and broke the silence once more,

"How about getting some sleep? After all, it's already quite late..."

Angell only nodded slightly and he let go of her, before lying down next to her. As Mac put his arm around her Angell smiled and snuggled closer to him.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__Hope you liked it! I dunno yet when I will be able to re-post the next chapter (which is also the last re-written chapter) considering that I had already trouble writing it in the first place, not being really satisfied at all with it when I originally posted it - but I simply dunno how to do it better, so the point here is - I could seriously use a beta-reader for that chapter, but I don't know who I should ask, since the chapter will be rated M and I'm only looking for a beta for that particular chapter...Any advice? Well, anyways, please do me a favor and REVIEW considering that I really love getting feedback for my stories!_


	6. 5 Reminiscing

_**Warnings:**__ This chapter contains sexual content..._

_**A/N:**__ Well, after some time of consideration I decided against getting a beta for this chapter, since I'm not concerned about the grammar or spelling - I'm simply concerned that this chapter sux big time. But I simply didn't want to wait any longer with posting this, so...Anyways, I basically didn't make any changes here. I should probably mention that the parts written in italics are what Angell dreams. _

* * *

**Guarding Angell**

_5. Reminiscing_

Mac wasn't quite sure what had woken him, but after a moment the question what had disturbed his sleep was replaced by concern about Angell as he got aware of the fact that she was tossing from side to side next to him. Turning toward her he lifted his hand to caress her cheek.

The moment his fingertips brushed against her skin his worry even grew as he realized that she was basically burning up.

_The moment he had slammed the door shut he pushed her against it, their lips locking in yet another passionate kiss. A tiny part of her brain was still trying to determine whether this was a good idea, but the main part of her didn't really give a damn about the answer - the temptation too strong as that she __could__ care, and after all, it had been inevitable that this happened eventually, right? After all, she was only human as well and there was only so much she could take of this before the temptation simply got too overwhelming..._

Letting his fingers slide through Angell's hair Mac frowned for a moment before caressing softly her cheek and stating,

"Jess, wake up..." When she didn't show any reaction his frown deepened, not quite sure if he shouldn't simply let her sleep.

_When he began leading her to his bedroom she took off his jacket and loosened his tie, while he reached for the rim of her top. As his fingertips brushed against the skin of her stomach she felt a wave of sparks rushing through her veins and her eyes flew shut for a few seconds._

_Only a few seconds later they broke their kiss and she lifted her arms so he could pull her top over her head. After he had dropped it to the floor he drew her closer again and they shared another hungry kiss._

After simply watching Angell sleep for a while Mac got quietly up and went to get something to drink. However, the moment he had left the bedroom his mind immediately drifted off to Angell again.

_As he drew her closer, deepening their kiss even further (if that was actually possible), she could feel the bulge of his erection through the layers of their clothes. Suddenly being overwhelmed by desire she started undoing the buttons of his shirt in a frantic rush. She hadn't even undone half of the buttons when he kissed the side of her neck, nibbling softly at her skin. _

_For a moment the movements of her hands stilled as his lips brushed over a such sensitive spot and she couldn't keep a soft moan from escaping her mouth, her eyes flying momentarily shut. When he returned his lips to hers and she focused back on ridding him of his shirt she noticed that her hands were trembling, making it almost impossible to undo the buttons - and before she even knew what she was doing she simply ripped the offending piece of clothing open, causing him to grin against her lips._

_The moment she had discarded the ruined shirt to the floor she let her hands roam over his chest, before letting her hands wander further down to unbuckle his belt and undo the button and zipper of his suit-pants._

_By the time she had undone the zipper they had reached the bedroom. As she pulled down his pants and boxers her right hand brushed against his arousal, causing him to draw in a sharp breath._

Returning from the kitchen Mac simply stopped in the door-way to the bedroom for a few seconds and looked at Angell, who was still tossing and turning in her bed, causing a deep frown to appear on his face.

_Only a few seconds after she had removed his pants and boxers he reached for the button of her jeans and undid it along with the zipper, before pulling them quickly down. A short time later he wound his left hand into her hair, kissing her passionately. _

_Eventually he brushed the straps of her red lacy bra off her shoulders, before lifting his left hand to her face and caressing her cheek, opening with the right hand the clasp of her bra, causing it to fall to the carpet. He kissed her passionate, then he began trailing soft, lingering kisses down the side of her throat, while brushing with his fingertips over her breasts, causing a shiver to run down her spine. _

_Wrapping her arms around his neck she drew his face closer to hers and they shared a hungry kiss, while he pulled her panties down. _

As Mac lay back down next to Angell he let the fingers of his right hand slide through her hair, before beginning once more to caress her cheek.

_He pushed her down on his bed. Only a few seconds later he leaned down and kissed her passionate. After a few seconds he straightened up and simply looked down at her for a while, a sly grin on his face. Leaning back down he began trailing kisses all over her body, caressing softly her skin with his fingertips. _

_Eventually he kissed her passionate and whispered into her ear,_

_"You have no idea how long I already wanted to do this..." _

_As he was talking he caressed her breasts with his left hand while letting the fingertips of his right hand wander lightly over the inside of her thighs, before he let his index-finger brush over her clit, causing her to moan. He kissed softly the skin just beneath her left ear, before letting his lips wander down the side of her throat. Meanwhile, he brushed his index-finger over her wet entrance and smiled against her skin when she bucked up her hips._

_Beginning to lose her patience she replied to his earlier comment,_

_"Really? Then stop messing around and just __fuck__ me..."_

_Hearing that he chuckled and grinned at her, before bending down and giving her a hungry kiss. A few seconds later he entered her and began thrusting into her, slowly increasing the pace. _

_After a moment he trailed kisses down the side of her neck and over her throat, before kissing her passionately onto her lips. She put her hands at the back of his neck, drawing his face closer and deepening the kiss. _

_As they neared their climax he began stroking her clit with his right thumb, bringing her quickly closer to her orgasm. She could tell that he was holding back just like she herself was doing, however, only a few seconds later a strong thrust sent them both over the edge._

_Feeling the heat rushing throughout her body she gripped his shoulders, her finger-nails scraping his skin, and his name escaped her mouth..._

"Don..." Angell murmered in her sleep, her voice sounding a little husky.

Observing carefully her face Mac noticed that she was smiling softly and he began wondering what she was dreaming. However, only a moment later a concerned frown appeared on his face as her smile faded and she tensed up.

_Taking a look around her Angell couldn't help but frown, needing a moment to realize where she was. And sure enough she heard Stella ask a moment later,_

_"Do you know if she was seeing someone?" _

_"Not exactly...But there was a guy she had a thing for. And she told me that she had surprisingly met him again a few days ago at a bar..."_

_"What can you tell us about that guy?" Angell heard herself ask._

_"To be honest not much, considering that I never met him...So, all I know about him is what Katie told me..." Liza Miller, the best friend of the vic, started,_

_"She mentioned that he's a cop - that's also how they met. One of her ex-boyfriends wasn't willing to accept that it was over, he was stalking and threatening Katie and after he had showed up at the place where she was working back then she decided to go to the police...But I don't know his name."_

As Angell turned onto her left side and curled slightly up Mac sat up and frowned, noticing that her hands where clenched tightly into fists. Reaching for her right shoulder his worry increased as he realized that her fever had gone even more up.

"Jess, wake up..." He stated and shook her slightly in an attempt of waking her,

"Come on, Jess, wake up."

_After getting a call from Stella she had headed to the lab. As she had found the CSI she asked right away,_

_"What do ya got for me?"_

_"Eh, Sid's autopsy report on Katie...She died because of her severe injuries. However, Sid wasn't able to determine which of the numerous stab-wounds was the one that actually killed her, considering that several of the injuries could have been lethal." Stella told her._

_Before either of them was able to say something else a beep was heard and they went over to Lindsay, who had been examining some evidence at the other end of the room._

_"We got the DNA result of the hair we found on Katie's bed..." Lindsay said when they had reached her._

_"Well, then let's see whose hair it is." Stella stated._

_Nodding Lindsay pressed a key on the keyboard of the PC and put the result on the screen. Seeing the picture and name that appeared on the screen Angell felt like her legs might give way beneath her any second, incapable of comprehending - let alone believing - what she saw right in front of her._

As Angell began tossing from side to side again Mac couldn't help wondering if it won't have been better if she had stayed at the hospital over the night. Trying once more to get her to wake up he released a heavy sigh.

_"You're okay, Angell?" Stella asked._

_She swallowed hard and forced a smile on her lips, then she nodded and replied,_

_"Eh, yeah, I'm fine..." Looking once more at Flack's picture on the screen and feeling her slight shock transform into a mix of anger and pain she added,_

_"It's only that I just remembered that I have an appointment for a routine check-up this afternoon." She paused for a moment, then she wanted to know,_

_"Do you still need me here?"_

_Seeing the two CSI's shake their heads no she turned around and left._

After some time Angell turned toward him, her hands clenching tightly his t-shirt. Taking a look at her face he came to the conclusion that she was probably having febrile seizures, considering that she was shaking violently and chattered with her teeth - even though her body was basically burning up...A moment later he turned on his back and drew her closer, holding her in his arms and stroking softly her back.

_Entering her apartment Angell slammed the door shut and released a heavy sigh. Captain Carlisle hadn't been the least happy when she had called and told him the same lie she had already told Stella and Lindsay, but she simply didn't feel like going back to work - and most of all she didn't feel like continuing to work on this case or having to see Flack at the moment, knowing that if she saw him right now she would probably lose her composure completely._

_She just couldn't believe this - couldn't believe that he had cheated on her! Letting herself fall on the couch she closed her eyes, fearing that if she kept them open she would start crying. _

_She wasn't sure how long she had sat there like that when her cell phone started ringing. Pulling it out and seeing that it was Flack she simply turned it off, not wanting to hear his voice right now, not wanting to hear from him some excuse for sleeping with Katie..._

_Maybe it was her own fault, maybe it had been a mistake to get involved with him all along considering that she had known that he was a player...Had she really believed that this thing between them could work - that it could be more than just another fling to him? It had probably been goddamn stupid of her to think that she actually meant something to him to begin with..._

_Realizing that he apparently didn't give a damn about her was hurting her more than she wanted to admit. _

_The longer she thought about it, about her relationship with Flack, the more she got overwhelmed by her emotions. Soon tears were running down her face and no matter how much she tried - they just won't stop, it was like the walls of a reservoir had broken and the entire water was crashing down over her in tidal waves._

_However, it didn't take long before her pain and sadness were replaced by anger and disappointment, causing her sobs to subside slowly. As she had calmed down a bit she wiped away the remains of her tears and got up..._

Mac had been on the best way to drift off to sleep when his mind was forced back to the present as Angell flinched next to him. Turning onto his left side he saw that she was awake, her eyes wide open, but it was more like she was staring through him rather than seeing him.

Reaching for her face he said softly her name, causing her sight to focus on him. Taking a closer glance at her face he saw a tear rolling down her left cheek. Wiping it away he leaned closer and gave her a soft kiss onto her forehead.

As Mac gave her a kiss she closed her eyes and began to relax. When he turned on his back again she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his chest. Feeling him wrap his arms around her she simply took some deep breaths, inhaling his scent and trying to forget what she had dreamed.

However, keeping her mind from drifting off to that day was apparently one of those things that were easier said than done.

The truth was it still hurt to think about it, about that day. When he had accused her of having feelings for Mac she had wanted to yell at him, had wanted to tell him how ridiculous the simple thought of that was, but something had kept her from actually doing so. She wasn't quite sure why but somehow she had felt like there was a big lump stuck in her throat, keeping her from saying a single word.

Damnit, she had spent basically the entire following night with trying to understand why she hadn't at least tried to change his mind, why she hadn't tried to make him realize that he was wrong with his suspicions. Well, maybe she hadn't protested because she had thought that he could be right...

A heavy sigh escaped her mouth as she tried to push those thoughts away. After all, it was pointless to think about it, she won't understand it anyways - and beside that it didn't really matter anymore.

Feeling Mac's fingertips brush over her arm a soft smile crossed her face. Why was she even thinking about all of this? She was happy with Mac, so why didn't she simply stop thinking about it?

A moment later she got disrupted in her thoughts as Mac's cell phone started ringing.

Hearing his cell phone ring Mac couldn't help but sigh, grabbing it from the nightstand nonetheless he took a deep breath and checking the caller's ID he hurried to answer the call.

"What's up, Flack?" He listened for a moment then he said,

"Okay, I'll be there in about thirty minutes."

As he had hung up the phone Angell mused,

"You gotta go..." It was not exactly a question, after all, she already knew the answer.

He looked at her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, then he replied,

"Yeah, I gotta go...We might have a lead..." Seeing her nod he sat up and added,

"You should get some more sleep."

She nodded once more and watched him getting up and disappear in the bathroom.

When Mac returned to the bedroom he found Angell deep asleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed and simply caressed her cheek for a moment. Eventually he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss onto her temple and got up.

_Around half-past eleven AM :_

As she woke up again Angell simply stared at the ceiling above her for a while. She wasn't quite sure what she should do, but she certainly had no intention to stay in bed all day.

Sitting eventually up she frowned angrily. God, she _**hated **_being sick! She hated to be unable to work, to be stuck at home was simply driving her insane. In fact she had always hated it, already when she was still a kid. She had always been restless and impatient - when she had been sick (which was luckily a rarity) she would get on everybody's nerves with asking when she could go back to school, when she could do her hobbies again...

Shaking slowly her head Angell got up and headed to the kitchen to get herself something to drink, considering that her throat felt drier than the Sahara.

Taking a seat on the couch in the living-room a few minutes later she couldn't help but sigh as her cell phone started ringing. For a moment she thought about simply ignoring it, but eventually she grabbed the cell from the coffee-table and answered the call.

"Angell..."

_"Hey, it's me...I just wanted to know how you're doin'..." _She heard Flack say at the other end of the line.

"Well, how am I supposed..." Angell started, but was interrupted by a wave of coughs,

"Anyways, how's it going with the case?" She wanted to know after her coughs had subsided.

_"We closed it last night." _Flack replied after a moment of hesitation,

_"Sanchez confessed during interrogation and ratted his partner out."_

"Why didn't you call and tell me right away?" Jess demanded to know, anger etched to her voice.

_"It was already about eleven, I thought you might be sleeping and I didn't want to wake you. And besides after our argument at the hospital I thought it might be better to give you some time to calm down." _He told her.

For a moment she was tempted to point out that first of all it hadn't actually been an argument to begin with and that if there had been someone who would have needed to calm down it would have been him - after all, it had been him who had yelled at her without a real reason, but eventually she came to the conclusion that it would be better not to do that.

_"Listen Jess, I'm sorry for yelling at you..." _He broke the silence after some time.

"It's okay..." She stated in response, incapable of keeping a smile from crossing her face,

"You were upset by what had happened at the warehouse, I understand that."

_"Okay...So, how's your arm?"_

"It doesn't hurt."

As they hung up a moment later Angell let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment, her mind drifting off to the passed day...

She still remembered how she had broken down almost simultaneously to Sanchez shooting at her, the feeling of being unable to breathe as two of the bullets had hit her vest. She also still knew how she had regained consciousness for a second or two - was still seeing clearly before her eyes how Flack leant over her, the worried expression on his face...And she could still feel him holding her hand during the ride to the hospital, could still feel him brush his thumb over the back of her hand.

Eventually her thoughts returned to what she had dreamed the passed night, causing her to wonder for yet another time why she had simply remained quiet when he had told her about his suspicions, why she had simply accepted his decision. After all, she had loved him, she had been happy with him...

And the truth was there were moments when it still hurt that he had called it off - when she still missed him. Sure, she felt guilty for that, considering that she was now with Mac, but it simply couldn't change that there were nonetheless moments when she got caught up by the memories of her relationship with Flack, when she wished she could turn back time and change his mind.

After some time her mind drifted off to the night of Flack's birthday...

_**Flashback :**_

_While writing the text message she couldn't help but smile cheerfully. As she sent it her smile even widened, already looking forward to Flack getting home - in fact she could barely wait..._

_After a moment of consideration she got up from the couch, deciding that it would be best to use the time 'til he arrived for something productive, after all, she had plans for the night. Furthermore she knew that it would drive her totally insane if she just sat around and waited for him. _

_Padding into Flack's bathroom she let out a soft sigh before pulling off her clothes and heading for the shower. However, before she had the chance to actually step into the shower, let alone turning on the water, she heard how her cell phone started ringing. _

_Frowning for a moment she grabbed hurriedly one of Flack's t-shirts, which lay on the rim of the bath-tub, pulled it over her head and hurried back to the living-room to answer the call._

_"Angell." She said a little breathless, not bothering to take a glance at the caller's ID._

_"You're okay?" She heard Flack's voice at the other end of the line and she couldn't help but smile._

_"Eh, yeah, why?" _

_"Never mind, I just called to let you know that I got your message..." He told her._

_"You did?" She asked innocently, her smile turning into a mischievous grin._

_"Yes, and I think I'll be done here in about half an hour."_

_"Great..." She stated, and after a few seconds of consideration she added,_

_"You better don't let me wait too long though...After all, I got plans for tonight, you know..."_

_"I'll keep that in mind." Flack assured and chuckled slightly, before promising,_

_"I'll see you soon."_

_A moment later they hung up and she went to the bathroom once more._

_About thirty-eight minutes later :_

_At the distant sound of the front-door being opened and shut Angell smiled cheerfully at her reflection in the mirror over the sink in the bathroom, however, she chose to stay where she was for another moment - even though the anticipation of putting her plan in action was by now driving her insane._

_"Jess?" She heard Flack's voice from the bedroom and her smile widened._

_Taking a deep, steadying breath she checked once more her reflection and coming to the conclusion that she was satisfied with it she turned and headed for the door._

_Opening silently the door to the bedroom she stated softly,_

_"Yeah?" _

_Flack turned around and smiled, letting his eyes wander over her, taking in her appearance. Walking slowly up to him she smiled and teased,_

_"Like what ya see, Detective?"_

_Flack's smile turned into a sly grin and as she had reached him he put his arms around her, stating,_

_"Most defintely..." With that he drew her closer, claiming her lips in a hungry kiss._

_As he deepened their kiss even further she couldn't help but smile against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck._

_When they eventually broke the kiss in need for oxygen he mumbled a little breathless,_

_"So, in your text it said you got a surprise for me..."_

_"Exactly..." She confirmed and a mischievous sparkle appeared in her eyes. Studying his face and leaning in she told him seductively, while loosening his tie,_

_"Tonight I'll do everything you want me to do..." She let her hands wander slowly down to his waist, pulling his shirt out of his pants and whispered into his ear,_

_"I'm gonna do __everything__..."_

_"Everything, really?" He asked, his voice raw with anticipation and when she pulled slightly back to look at his face she noticed that his eyes had darkened with such a burning desire._

_"Yes...Tonight your every fantasy, your innermost desires can come true..." Angell said, her voice now promising, they locked eyes for a moment and she began undoing the buttons of his shirt._

_As he leaned in for another kiss she stopped and gripped the fabric, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Feeling Flack wind his left hand into her hair, while he wrapped his right arm tightly around her waist, Angell closed her eyes._

_Breaking eventually the kiss she gave him a questioning glance and asked, her voice shaking slightly,_

_"So, what's it gonna be, Don - what do you desire?"_

_He reached for her face, caressing tenderly her cheek, and remained silent for a few seconds, then he mumbled,_

_"There are so many things..." Between his words he began trailing featherlike kisses over her throat and collar-bones, while brushing softly the straps of her black negligée off her shoulders, causing it to slide down her slender form,_

_"So many things I always wanted to do with you...wanted to do __to__ you..." He let his fingertips wander over perfect breasts, her toned stomach, down to the rim of her black lacy panties. _

_Hooking his thumbs beneath the thin fabric he returned his lips to hers, kissing her passionate._

_Then he pulled her undies down to the middle of her thighs and as they slid down the rest of her legs he drew her closer, wrapping his arms tightly around her delicate frame._

_While he was kissing her Flack led her to his bed. As they had reached it he pushed her down onto it. Bending almost immediately down he kissed her for yet another time, pulling slightly back he smiled mischievously at her and told her,_

_"However, as for now I want you to just lay still and remain perfectly silent..." They locked eyes and he added,_

_"You can do that, right?" Seeing her nod his smile widened and he leaned down and kissed her again._

_After a moment he let his lips begin to wander over her throat, her collar-bones, making slowly his way down to her belly. Meanwhile he let his fingertips brush softly over her skin, drawing random patterns all over her body. As his lips had reached her tummy he let them linger for a while, brushing featherlike kisses over the skin around her belly. Eventually he drew with the tip of his tongue a circle around her belly-button, before his lips continued down her body._

_The lower his lips wandered the harder it got for her to stick to what he had told her, the featherlike touch of his fingertips and those soft lingering kisses being enough to make her entire body tremble, setting every fiber of her being on fire._

_When he let his hands slide over either of her sides, down to her thighs and he parted softly her legs Angell bit her bottom lip, trying to suppress a moan. Only a few seconds later her eyes flew shut for a moment as Flack began brushing kisses from her right knee, up her thigh, while letting his fingers caress her stomach and breasts._

_While his lips wandered further and further up her leg Angell began losing more and more control over herself. _

_As she felt Flack's tongue wander over her folds she dug her fingers into the mattress, squeezing her eyes shut again. When he dipped his tongue inside of her only a few seconds later she couldn't help but buck up her hips, causing Flack to pull slightly back, he got a hold of her hips and ordered in a soft, yet warning voice,_

_"Don't move..."_

_Seeing her nod slowly he bent down again, his left hand remaining at her hip as he brushed kisses over her wet entrance, her clit...She gripped tightly the sheets, trying hard not to move, but as she felt him enter her with three of his fingers and start to slowly thrust in and out of her she couldn't help arching her back, a soft moan escaping her mouth._

_Flack immediately stopped and gave her a look._

_"Don't stop, Don..." Angell whimpered,_

_"Please..."_

_"Jess...I told you not to move and to remain quiet, didn't I?" He pointed out._

_"Yes, but it's hard doing so while you're..." She admitted._

_"Well, then I guess I'll have to stop." He interrupted her and already began pulling his hand back._

_"Don't stop..." Angell muttered weakly._

_"Jess, I gave you easy instructions - if you can't stick to them..." Flack started, but trailed off when she spoke up._

_"No Don, please, don't...I can do what you told me, I promise..." She pleaded, lifting her right hand and tugging at his shirt._

_Flack made a thoughtful face, as if he had to think real hard about whether he should surrender or stand his ground. Eventually his facial expression softened and he told her,_

_"Last chance - you make another sound and I stop, understood?"_

_She only nodded and smiled at him. A moment later her smile widened as Flack began to once again thrust his fingers in and out of her, slowly increasing the pace. It didn't take long before she felt a wave of heat spreading throughout her body as she neared quickly her climax..._

_**End flashback**_

Angell let out a soft moan, her eyes flying shut, as she thrusted with her fingers into herself quickly increasing the pace, while flicking her thumb over her clit. However, only a moment later the movements of her hand stilled and her eyes flew open as her mind was forced back to reality by an unexpected sound.

As the sound was repeated and she realized that someone was knocking at her door she jerked into a sitting position, quickly pulling her hand back.

For a moment she considered to simply ignore whoever was at her door, but eventually she forced herself to get up and headed for the door. Flinging it open she couldn't help but stare for a few seconds at the person standing in front of her.

"Well, I thought you might be hungry..." Stella stated and lifted a quite huge bowl, which probably contained some sort of soup.

Angell put on a smile and told the CSI, forcing her voice to sound as normal as anyway possible,

"Eh, come in and make yourself at home, I'll be right back..." With that she turned around and headed hurriedly off for her bedroom.

Stopping for a moment at her wardrobe she crouched down and pulled a drawer open, grabbing a pair of panties she pushed the drawer shut and straightened up, then she opened the doors and pulled a pair of grey sweat-pants out and disappeared quickly in the adjoining bathroom.

Pulling the sweat-shorts she had been wearing since she had gotten up off along with her by now quite wet panties and putting on the fresh ones she tried to calm down, though she had to face the fact that it was by far not that simple...

Hurrying to put on the sweat-pants she let out a heavy sigh. Damnit, she felt like she was a five year old all over again and had just been caught by her mom as she stole some cookies from the kitchen!

At that thought she shook slowly her head and took a quick look at her reflection in the mirror over the sink, before leaving the bathroom again. On her way through the bedroom she grabbed the NYPD sweater - Flack's sweater, which lay on the chair standing next to her wardrobe, and pulled it quickly over her head inhaling deeply his scent for a few seconds.

While Angell disappeared into one of the other rooms Stella went to the kitchen to put the soup away. When she returned to the living-room there was still no sign of Angell, so she simply took a seat on the couch and waited for her.

Hearing Angell's soft foot-fall from behind Stella turned her head and got up. As she approached Angell she noticed that she had changed clothes.

Walking up to Stella Angell tried to act as normal as possible, somehow feeling extremely self-conscious - almost as if it must be totally obvious to the CSI what she had been doing before she had shown up. However, only a few seconds passed before that concern faded as everything around her started to become blurry and all she heard was the sound of her blood rushing through her veins.

Seeing how Angell began to sway Stella hurried to close the remaining space and stated, while putting her right arm around Angell to steady her,

"Easy there..."

Normally she would protest like crazy, but right now she simply didn't have the energy, so Angell simply let Stella lead her to the couch and make her sit down.

After making sure that Angell would stay put Stella headed back to the kitchen to get some water for the younger woman.

When she returned Angell was still sitting in the exact same spot as when she had left, staring blankly ahead. Leaning down she handed the glass of water to Angell and after watching her take several sips of the cool liquid Stella asked,

"Better?"

Angell nodded slightly and a weak smile crossed her features,

"Thanks Stella..."

"No prob..." Stella said in response and smiled, before wanting to know,

"You're hungry?"

Angell thought for a moment then she admitted,

"A bit..."

"Okay, I'll get you some soup, 'k?" Seeing Angell nod Stella straightened up and went to the kitchen for yet another time.

After some time Angell rose carefully from her couch and padded slowly to her kitchen.

Once there she stopped in the door-way, supporting herself by leaning aginst the door-frame and watched Stella searching for plates and spoons. Eventually Angell walked further into the room and while taking a seat at the small kitchen-table in the middle of the room she said,

"Spoons are in the drawer to your right and plates are on the top-shelf in the cabinet to the left of the fridge."

While waiting for the soup being heated up again in the microwave oven Stella took a closer look at the younger woman. Angell was incredible pale, her hair was damp and her eyes were glassy. Eventually Stella asked,

"How are you doing?"

Angell couldn't help but release a heavy sigh then she smirked.

"I'm okay..." She stated weakly in response.

"Really?" The CSI inquired, a doubtful expression on her face.

Hearing that another heavy sigh escaped Angell's mouth and she muttered,

"Yeah..." Then she wanted to know,

"Why are you asking?"

Before Stella was able to reply the microwave made a _'ding'_, announcing that it was done heating the soup up, so the CSI remained silent and turned around to get the soup. Only a moment later there were two plates of steaming hot soup standing on the table.

As Stella took a seat she eventually replied, eyeing her suspiciously,

"Well, first of all just a few minutes ago you almost fainted and to be honest - you don't really look too well..."

At that Angell tensed up and her eyes widened in slight shock, however, in the matter of seconds she had regained her composure and pointed out,

"I just got up about five minutes before you showed up." She shrugged and studied carefully the CSI's face, wondering if she was buying her lie.

_About a half hour later :_

Closing the front-door after Stella had stepped out of her apartment a relieved sigh escaped Angell's mouth. Somehow she couldn't help being glad that the CSI was gone. Well, it wasn't like she wasn't grateful for the soup Stella had brought her, or that she didn't appreciate knowing that her co-workers cared about her and wanted to make sure that she was okay...

But as irrational as it sounded even to her own ears - she just couldn't keep herself from wondering if Stella _**knew**_ - if she knew the truth, if she had seen through her lie...Sure, Angell knew it was totally ridiculous to even think about the possiblity that Stella could know what she had _**really**_ been doing before she showed up - let alone worrying this much about it, but still...

Eventually Angell let out a frustrated groan, while heading back to the kitchen to put the untouched remainings of the soup into the fridge. Realizing how exhausted she already was she let her shoulders hang and turned to get to her bedroom. But after only a few steps she had to stop and grab the next best thing - in this case happening to be a book-shelf - to keep herself up.

Closing her eyes she waited for the dizziness to fade, before opening them again and continuing on her way to her bed.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for reading...I hope you at least like this chapter a bit. Anyways, I'm not sure yet when I will be done with the next chapter. Well, anyways please take the time to review and let me know what you think..._


End file.
